


this film is not yet rated

by kurooing



Category: B.A.P
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-27
Updated: 2015-02-27
Packaged: 2018-03-15 11:18:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3445133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurooing/pseuds/kurooing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Youngjae wants to watch a movie, not make a friend.<br/>Daehyun probably wants both.</p>
            </blockquote>





	this film is not yet rated

**Author's Note:**

> loosely inspired by one of those prompt masterposts on tumblr... then took on a life of its own. this is the longest thing i've written (& finished in ages) wow. i have no idea what i'm doing.

“What do you mean it’s still out? Wasn’t it due back yesterday?” Youngjae asks in what he hopes is an only slightly exasperated tone. After all, it’s not Jongup’s fault that some nitwit hasn’t returned the DVD he’s been waiting on for weeks.

That said, it is sort of Jongup’s fault that the DVD wasn’t placed on reserve for Youngjae as soon as it came in, which was the alleged arrangement the two made those several weeks ago. As soon as the release date was announced, actually. So maybe if Youngjae sounds a little more annoyed than he wants, it isn’t completely unfounded. But it takes a stronger, much worse person than Youngjae to actually be _mad_ at Jongup. Instead, he just sighs, resigned to the fact that nothing can be done. “You’ll let me know when it gets returned, right?”

“Of course! I’ll call you the second I see it, don’t worry.” Jongup wavs as Youngjae turns to leave the rental store. There’s no accounting for the rudeness of people who can’t even do things on time, he guesses.

And then, Youngjae waits.

He waits an entire week, and hears nothing from Jongup or any of the other employees of the shop. Keeping a DVD out a day or two later than the rental period is one thing, but over a week? There is a special place in hell reserved for people who do this, but he realizes it’s also possible that he just hasn’t been called. With little hope, he heads out to the rental store yet again. Maybe Jongup hadn’t told any of his coworkers that Youngjae was waiting for the DVD and they reshelved it when it came back. Maybe it’s sitting on the shelf waiting for him to pick it up. Or maybe Jongup _had_ been there but he got distracted by something immediately after and calling Youngjae slipped his mind, but the DVD is there being held for him anyway. A number of other possibilities drum their way through Youngjae’s mind as he walks; he even manages to muster up a little more optimism as he considers the options.

Life, Youngjae decides, will never fail to find new ways to be disappointing.

No one has seen nor heard anything from the guy who rented the DVD. One of the employees Youngjae doesn’t like nearly as much as Jongup informs him that at this point, the store is probably not going to get it back. “Well are you going to get another copy?”

“What? I don’t know, that’s not my job, man.” Incredible.

“Aren’t you losing a bunch of money like this? Surely there’s something the company can do. Not only is the price of the DVD blown, but all the late fees this guy’s been acquiring over the past week, too. You’re not going to get any of that. And you’re telling me that you don’t know what the policy is to deal with such things?”

“Above my pay grade, you know?” Youngjae chews on the fingernail of his index finger out of irritation. “Is Jongup in the back or something? Can you go find him? Or is that also above your pay grade?” The guy shrugs noncommittally, but turns to walk into the back room, from where hopefully Jongup would appear shortly. And appear he does, a flat expression on his face, not that that means much.

“Sorry, Youngjae, but there’s really nothing we can do. I can talk to Yongguk about getting another copy…” Jongup trails off in a way that seems to indicate he doesn’t really have high hopes about that line of action. In all the years Youngjae has frequented this DVD rental store, he’s never seen this illusive owner, and is inclined to believe he is a myth. But that’s a mystery for another day. At this point there’s only one other thing Youngjae can think of that might help him. “Do you know the name of the customer who has the movie? There’s not some weird DVD rental privacy act forbidding you from telling me that much is there?”

Jongup scratches the side of his head, hopefully coming to the conclusion Youngjae just presented to him. “I can’t think of anything, no,” he starts to say, when the door suddenly blows open and a whirlwind in the vague form of a person flies straight up to the desk. He slams a DVD case down on the counter and looks Jongup straight in the eyes.

“Please. Tell me you’ve watched this movie. I need to talk to someone who’s seen it.” The guy’s hair is half sticking up and he has a weird, somewhat frenzied look in his eyes. Youngjae glances down at the counter to see what movie could have anyone so worked up--

“IT’S YOU!” he exclaims, eyes wide. The DVD hoarder turns to blink confusedly at Youngjae. “You who? What? Who are you?”

“No, you. You’re the one who’s had this movie for more than a week past the due date. Who does that?”

“I HAD TO KEEP IT! I NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND! AND I STILL DON’T!” the guy yells, arms flailing wildly around him, before he turns back to Jongup. “Help me.”

“Uhh...I haven’t seen it.”

“But you work here.”

“You’ve had the only copy rented since we got it, Daehyun.” This seems like as good a time as any to reinsert himself into the conversation, Youngjae decides. “Which is what makes you keeping it so long even ruder. I’ve been wanting to watch it for ages. Just give it back already.” The Daehyun guy just shakes his head and waves his arms in front of his face.

“Can’t. Not until I understand it.”

“You realize you’re racking up a ridiculous amount of late fees, right?” It appears that this hadn’t actually crossed Daehyun’s mind, and he turns back to Jongup. “Okay, so I’d like to return this, pay my late fees, and check it out again.”

Absolutely unacceptable.

“YOU CAN’T DO THAT!” Youngjae blurts out, officially done with this entire situation. Behind the counter, Jongup shifts uncomfortably on his feet. “Well, actually…” he starts. Daehyun smiles triumphantly and shoves his credit card at Jongup. Youngjae is pretty sure he hates this guy. He turns to stomp angrily out of the shop, all hope now completely abandoned.

“Ay! Wait a second!” Daehyun calls when Youngjae is about three steps from the door. He bounds over to stand in front of him, a giant stupid smile plastered across his face for no reason Youngjae can possibly decipher, other than to be an asshole. “What?”

The anger of that one word apparently startles Daehyun slightly, and he bounces back a step. “You want to see this pretty bad, huh?” Youngjae blinks a few times, before looking away to stare angrily out the window. “Yes, thank you for rubbing it in. Now if you’ll excuse me,” he comments, shoving past Daehyun to get to the door. Somehow, this guy doesn’t seem to know when to give up and he bounds in front of Youngjae again, blocking the door.

“Wait, wait. I had an idea.” As there is now no way for Youngjae to leave the building without violence, he folds his arms and stares at Daehyun, who is now pointing between the DVD case and Youngjae. “Right, so you want to see this movie. But I still have it rented, so you can’t. And I need someone who can help me understand what the movie’s about. And you look like a reasonably intelligent person. So, a proposition: you come watch the movie with me. Everyone wins!”

This is by far one of the dumbest ideas Youngjae’s heard in ages. “I don’t even know you, let alone have any inclination to watch a movie with you. I’ll just download it and watch it on my computer or something.”

“Oh, come on, please! What’s the point in me continuing to watch it alone and not get anything new from it?”

“Well, gosh, I just don’t know. Maybe if you’d thought of that sooner you could have saved yourself the trouble. Or maybe you should just give up.”

“But I don’t want to.” Daehyun is now bouncing in place, and pouting. _Pouting_ at Youngjae, a complete stranger. His eyes are sparkling and he looks ridiculous with his huge lower lip stuck out like that...but he looks harmless enough, Youngjae thinks to himself.

“If I see or hear anything that looks or sounds even remotely suspicious, I’m leaving. And taking the movie with me.” Daehyun stops pouting and his smile is even bigger than it was before, which is impressive and ridiculous. Maybe Youngjae made the wrong decision, but before he has a second to reconsider Daehyun is grabbing his arm and pulling him outside and down the street, chattering away about who only knows what.

If nothing else, at least he won’t be bored this afternoon.

****  
  


It takes an extreme amount of effort to stop Daehyun from ruining the movie for him, when they finally start watching it. Three, four times Youngjae reminds him that just because he’s seen the movie six times already and knows everything that’s going to happen doesn’t mean that Youngjae knows. Twice he threatens not to explain anything if Daehyun continues talking, which is effective for exactly fifteen minutes each time. They have to pause more times than Youngjae would normally consider reasonable - for food, for drinks, for Daehyun to go to the bathroom, more food; the movie is barely over two hours, how can one person need so much food in that amount of time?

“So do you get it yet? What’s going on?” Daehyun asks about two-thirds of the way through. At this point, Youngjae is pretty sure he knows what’s going to happen and if he’s right it’s going to be vastly disappointing. But this movie got incredible reviews from sources he considers reliable - not a simple thing - so he withholds judgement. “I’ll let you know when it’s over if I was right,” he tells Daehyun, who frowns slightly.

“That’s no fun,” he mumbles quietly. Youngjae isn’t sure he was meant to hear it, but since he’s been mildly irritated and inconvenienced through this entire experience he decides he doesn’t care. “I wasn’t aware entertaining you was part of this arrangement; should I do an interpretive dance for you explaining everything?”

For a brief second Daehyun’s eyes light up before he realizes what an absurd comment that is and an obvious snark. Only instead of deflating or pouting again like Youngjae expects him to do, Daehyun snaps back, “That sounds good to me, but you’d better be naked otherwise what’s the point?” This manages to catch Youngjae completely off-guard, his mouth hanging open as he stares blankly at Daehyun. A couple of moments pass, and then Daehyun is laughing, loudly and completely and with his entire body. He claps Youngjae on the back warm heartedly, tears starting to leak from the corners of his eyes from laughing so hard.

"You should see your face! It's incredible, ahh," he manages to breathe out between bursts of laughter, which doesn't show any sign of stopping. It's so ridiculous, and Daehyun won't stop laughing, and then Youngjae starts laughing too and he has no idea what he's even laughing at.

Life is weird like that, sometimes.

****  
  


Later Youngjae will think back to that afternoon and question why he ever agreed to such a thing, but it's sort of moot now. Since then he's spent countless afternoons watching all sorts of movies with Daehyun. It's nice, having someone to talk to about them. Someone besides Jongup who will always listen but has probably not seen more than five of the movies in that entire shop. He even adjusts to Daehyun's constant interruptions - more or less.

"Augh, you _just_ went to the bathroom ten minutes ago!" Youngjae yells at Daehyun's back one afternoon, about three months into their friendship. If that's what he's going to call it... it's the most accurate term Youngjae can think of anyway.

"I'm sorry I don't have mastery over the whims of my bladder like you do!" he hears Daehyun shout back, his voice reverberating slightly from within the walls of the bathroom. They're watching a horror movie today, which Youngjae has learned means that Daehyun will be stress drinking a frankly ungodly amount of whatever beverage is put in front of him. Somehow, this makes everything less frightening, but it increases the amount of bathroom breaks exponentially. Youngjae suspects that it's actually the numerous pauses that are helping Daehyun cope with the film, but he keeps this to himself, he's not sure why. "More like mastery over my gluttonous urges," he quips in the direction of the bathroom just as Daehyun is emerging.

"Leave my gluttony out of this, Youngjae; it's a coping mechanism. You must have some for something. Or are you really this astoundingly impassive all the time," he accuses, staring down into Youngjae's face. "Yes," Youngjae affirms, and swats a hand at Daehyun's head to get him out of his space.

Daehyun unpauses the movie as he plops down on the couch, adding a quick, "Whatever you say, Yoo Youngjae~" as he picks his drink back up for his 'coping.'

****  
  


Obviously, Youngjae was lying about his passivity. In fact, he expends a great deal energy working to maintain his calm demeanor as much as possible. And these efforts typically pay off, even if sometimes to the detriment of his social standing. Which is fine; Youngjae has never been too concerned with other people's opinion of him. If he comes off as a slightly cold smart ass to most, then that's what he is. Anyone willing to spend enough time with him to know better is who he'd prefer to be around anyway.

Youngjae did not expect Daehyun to be one of those people.

Really, he doesn't know what he expected these movie-watching hangouts to become. If not for Daehyun's constant need to talk, they might not have been anything more than that. But it's been six months now, and Youngjae has learned a lot about Daehyun and his life. He does his best to reciprocate and share as well, but even when he doesn't Daehyun doesn't seem to mind. Which Youngjae isn't used to, but greatly appreciates.

This afternoon Daehyun chooses the movie they're going to watch, and Youngjae is mildly apprehensive because he says it's his favorite comedy of all time and considering how many things Daehyun finds hilarious Youngjae has no clue what that means. But he can tell Daehyun is excited about it, so he agrees - another new thing he's learning to do - and tries to think of the funniest movies he's seen. The list is fairly long, and varied, but ultimately irrelevant because Youngjae hasn't seen the one Daehyun pops into his DVD player.

Comedies are generally shorter, and require less thought-collecting or nerve-gathering, so they actually get through them quicker than most films. Daehyun finds less excuses to stop, possibly because he's too busy laughing uncontrollably at almost every other line.

"I told you it's hilarious!" he proclaims, when eventually even Youngjae can no longer contain his mirth. The laughter starts slowly, bubbling up from inside him and Daehyun is clearly pleased. It's not as though Youngjae never laughs, he does, frequently, but this time is different. Something breaks in his brain or at least that's what he assumes happens because before he realizes it he's falling over onto Daehyun's shoulder, one hand slapping his knee the other clutching his stomach.

Daehyun pauses the movie and looks down at him. "Oh my god, are you gonna be okay?" The only intelligible response Youngjae can think of is to shake his head while attempting not to slide onto the floor. And now Daehyun's laughing again and they get caught in a terrible feedback loop that lasts about five minutes before Youngjae is finally able to calm down again.

"I _knew_ you were full of it, I knew it!" Daehyun boasts, "No one is so cool and chic all the time, not even you, it's impossible. Oh my god, that was so worth the wait, I can't believe it. You totally lost your shit. Beautiful, I'm so glad. I was hoping you'd like the movie but I didn't expect this to happen." Youngjae covers his face with one of his hands, slightly embarrassed.

"Shut up; you totally lost your shit, too, Daehyun."

"Sure but when don't I? A Yoo Youngjae breakdown is a totally new experience for me. Ahh, I'm really just... in awe." Which is when Youngjae picks up a pillow and throws it at Daehyun's stupid smiling face.

****  
  


No one is perpetually happy, Youngjae knows this, but Daehyun is probably the closest to it he's ever seen. Besides emotional responses to the movies they watch, Daehyun has always greeted Youngjae with a smile. He's never seen him sad, or angry, and only on rare occasions has he seen him devoid of emotion at all. That does not mean Youngjae believes Daehyun doesn't have his moments, but for whatever reason, he either hides them or doesn't have them when Youngjae is around.

Which is why he is so surprised when he receives a phone call from a monotone Daehyun one evening, asking him to come over and watch a movie with him.

"Are you okay, Daehyun?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" Youngjae doesn't have an answer to that, because what does he know? So he says he'll be on his way in a minute and hangs up.

The Daehyun that meets him at the door is just as blank as the one he heard on the phone, and if it was weird to hear then it's even weirder to see. Youngjae doesn't like it, but from his knowledge of Daehyun, if he wanted to talk about what's wrong, he would. Instead of asking about that, Youngjae asks what movie they're going to watch.

"A cathartic one, I hope," is the answer Daehyun gives, and Youngjae trails behind him into the living room. All he can do is nod and wait.

The movie is probably the most depressing fictional thing Youngjae has ever seen, and if he still has any doubt in his mind that something's wrong with Daehyun it is now expunged. He spends the first half of the movie watching his friend more than the TV, because if Daehyun expresses his joy as abundantly and exuberantly as he does, what about his sadness? But nothing happens; Daehyun stares blankly at the screen, not moving, not talking, not pausing for breaks of any sort. Maybe Youngjae is wrong - it's happened before. Even if he is wrong he just wishes Daehyun would say or do _something_ , but he's too worried and anxious to say or do anything himself.

When Daehyun's hand reaches over to grab Youngjae's, relief begins to flow through him, only to be quickly replaced with more worry and a mix of other things. Because when he glances back over at Daehyun's face, he sees tears streaking down his cheeks, and Youngjae doesn't know when that started but now he _has_ to do something.

"Daehyunnie? I'm here, you know," he whispers, and apparently that's all the encouragement needed because a second later the air whooshes out of his chest as Daehyun crushes Youngjae to him, sobbing into the neck of his tshirt. Unsure of exactly how to handle these situations, Youngjae wraps his arms around him and strokes Daehyun's back slowly.

They sit on Daehyun's couch like that for several minutes, and then comes the talking. And listening is a thing that Youngjae is an expert at, so that's what he does, for what seems like hours. He doesn't even notice the DVD menu music looping continuously in the background, which under normal circumstances would have driven him crazy after hearing it three or four times.

He isn't really sure what to say when Daehyun finishes speaking, but the circumstances would dictate he at least try. "I'm sorry," is the best he can come up with and Youngjae knows it's woefully inefficient but consoling people has never been his forte; Daehyun stopped crying a while ago, but the spot on Youngjae's shirt is still damp and he picks at it idly while staring into his lap. Seconds of silence pass before he finds himself enveloped in another hug, this one less desperate than the last by far.

"Thanks Youngjae," Daehyun mumbles into his shoulder and squeezes him a little tighter. "I didn't even do anything." The pressure around his torso lessens as Daehyun leans back, still holding his shoulders.

"You came. You listened. You didn't run away when I started crying, which... is sort of what I expected you to do," he explains, a sheepish grin spreading across his face at the last bit. “I was trying really hard not to cry, I swear.”

“I think you picked a bad movie for that. But you didn’t really give me a chance to run, with the suffocating and all,” Youngjae says, reverting to his default mode of trying to lighten the mood by making jokes and being a smartass. Daehyun smiles for real this time, and Youngjae can’t help but smile back at him. “Whatever the reason, still, thank you.” He gives Youngjae’s shoulders one more quick squeeze and lets go, turning back to face the television.

Now may not be the right time, but Youngjae doesn’t know when will ever be better. Leaning forward across the couch, he pulls Daehyun to him, holding onto his shoulders just as his had been moments ago. Tentatively, Youngjae tilts his head and softly brushes his lips against Daehyun’s, who jumps in surprise. Youngjae can’t quite look at Daehyun’s face right now so he stares at a spot on the wall behind him and says quietly, “Maybe… we could do things together besides just watching movies.”

Daehyun doesn’t say anything for once, he simply wraps himself back around Youngjae and for once, words aren’t necessary.

 


End file.
